The late US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who passed away at age 84, was seen as among the most powerful incumbents of the vice-presidency in US history. Although numerous vice-presidents were confined to marginal or figurehead roles, Cheney exercised huge sway during the term of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently called as the "real president".
Bush resented this portrayal and said the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was respectful, invariably addressing him in public as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush questioned even descriptions of their relationship as a team because it suggested that they were peers. Despite these denials, Cheney considered the laidback president accommodating on a whole raft of governmental choices.
The Aftermath of 9/11
At the head of a group of neo-conservatives that encompassed military head Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon second-in-command Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the armed incursion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney assumed control, directing the shooting down of any unresponsive planes nearing the Capitol building.
Cheney stated the strikes changed him, making him become intent on retribution. Along with other conservative figures, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a occupation of Afghanistan in an attempt to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then strongly advocated for the armed intervention of Iraq, even though there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein having involvement.
Controversial Decisions
He showed no remorse about the invasion, in which an reckoned 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, nor about the harsh treatment of detainees captured after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on misleading intelligence circulated by Cheney, was the right course of action. "It was the proper decision to do back then. I was convinced at the time and I believe it today."
Yet even at the time, there were contrary opinions at a top tier about the poor management of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the region, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I observed, at a minimum," he subsequently stated "true dereliction, negligence, and recklessness: at worst, deception, ineptitude, and corruption."
Wider Perspective
Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo setting out situations in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "access to crucial commodities, mainly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had contended that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," explicitly referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush additionally had entered the Oval Office somewhat determined on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; topple Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the administration, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of diminishing America's engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested defense operations against Iraq.
Bush held a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been involved in a plot to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest accommodations in Baghdad had a floor mural with a likeness of his predecessor's visage that everyone had to walk over.
Interrogation Methods
But it was Cheney who was one of the most vociferous supporting invading Iraq, repeatedly quoting agency briefings that were both insubstantial or totally deceptive. He endorsed what the Bush administration indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate report in 2014 that determined that no useful information had come from the harsh techniques, Cheney rejected the report as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We instructed [the CIA] to establish protocols and put in place initiatives to catch the bastards who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it was not repeated. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
External Perception
Cheney took pleasure in nicknames given to him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the concept that he was a dark force directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 publication about the duo, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is cited as commenting: "Is it me who is the sinister strategist in the shadows that nobody ever sees come out of his hole? That is a effective way to function, actually."
Corporate Connections
Controversy over his corporate affiliations accompanied him during his tenure as vice-president. Although he had little experience in business but good contacts in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest petroleum companies, in 1995 as chairman and chief executive.
In 2000 he became Bush's VP candidate for the presidency. Controversially, during the military campaign, Halliburton was awarded US deals worth multiple billions.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the firm rose from his previous salary while military head to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
